In a message dated 5/5/98 10:25:49 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
 
<< Now I
 do not believe the hive intends to swarm as they still have 4 frames of
 foundation they have not touched. This only leaves supersedure. I have not
 seen the queen recently however the presence of the new egg in the queen
 cell indicates she is still present within the hive.
 Should I leave the cells and allow the hive to re- queen themselves? Or
 should I destroy all the cells and see if the existing queen improves ? >>
 
   The bees know best. The queen is no good. She is either poorly mated
(perhaps she tried on a rainy day, or there just weren't enough drones), or
maybe got chilled enroute to you. When they begin capping her brood, you will
have another clue, as they may put on drone caps on some cells, showing that
the queen has insufficient sperm stored away - a drone layer.
 
    The cells they raise are from desperation. You can take a chance on them,
as they *might* get a useable queen, or you can requeen. Don't expect the
existing queen to improve. If you requeen, it would help if you can add a
frame of sealed brood from another hive. That will give you young bees that
improve the chance of acceptance of the new queen. The longer you wait, the
older your bees are, and the greater the chance of killing an introduced
queen.
 
  You might even just add a frame of brood from a good hive, making sure there
are at least a few eggs, so they can have eggs that are more likely to be good
ones. Chances are that they will raise a better queen from the imported frame
than they could themselves. And there will be no problem with acceptance of a
queen they hatch out themselves.
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
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